Relatives of many victims have been cancelling their loved ones' credit cards, fearing they could be used by looters.

A Dutch newspaper reported that victims' phones are being answered by voices with heavy "Eastern European accents".

The crash scene is difficult to secure as it spans more than 10km (6.2 miles) and is inside the zone of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists.

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Gallery: Malaysia Airline Crash In Ukraine

A member of the Ukrainian emergencies ministry works at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region of the country

Moscow and the separatists, who are widely believed to be under the Kremlin’s control, were heavily criticised for not properly securing the area in the first few days after the crash.

The OSCE observer mission had to negotiate every visit to the area with the armed rebels and had to work under heavy restrictions.

Alexander Borodai, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, blamed the OSCE and other experts for dragging their feet and complained they were not allowed to at least get the bodies out of the sun.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the safety of international investigators but never officially condemned the handling of the crash site by the separatists.